Building a Bridge
by ximacloudx
Summary: Hermione is trying to balance the friendships she'd had her whole life with the new friends she's making. But what happens when one of those friends is Draco Malfoy...
1. Chapter 1

Hermione sighed as she walked into the Leaky Cauldron, wanting to be anywhere else in the world. It's not that she didn't want to be with her friends, or even that she didn't want to have a drink. But all she could think of was the relative danger of using a numbing spell on her feet when she was in heels. She would most likely topple over.

Harry and Ginny sat side by side in a booth near the back of the pub - Voldemort's defeat was only a couple years ago, and Harry still frequently encountered droves of people grateful for his saving the world. He did his best to keep a low profile despite the difficulty of accomplishing the task.

Hermione's heart fluttered as she saw the red hair and broad shoulders she recognized best in the world - her boyfriend, Ron.

Boyfriend. The world was still weird to say out loud. After a near decade of friendship, of fighting, of driving each other mad, they were finally together. Their relationship started immediately after the war, but Hermione went back to Hogwarts and Ron did not. The distance felt like a cruel twist of fate - she finally got what she wanted, only to be half a nation away for another year.

Hogwarts had been so lonely without him and Harry. Sure, she had Luna and Ginny still, but the small group of "8th years" seemed uncomfortable around each other. Many had lost friends and family in the war, and those absences were notable.

Even more odd were the children of deatheaters, either dead or locked away in Azkaban. Theo Nott was a perfect example - he'd completely avoided the Battle of Hogwarts, and his father had already received the Dementor's Kiss in Azkaban. She'd never talked much to Theo in school - it seems no one did, really - but she, Theo and Padma Patil were tasked with a lot of the castle repairs and grew close throughout Eighth Year.

Neither Theo nor Padma were big talkers - Hermione really appreciated their work together for that exact reason. They could work together in comfortable silence, something Hermione wasn't quite used to.

"Hermione!" Her head snapped over - speak of the devils. Theo and Padma sat at the bar, Padma having called her name. They must also be coming from their jobs - Padma worked at St. Mungo's as an apprentice, with the dark green robes of an apprentice mediwitch. Theo wasn't in robes at all - he wore dark dress pants and a white button down shirt. She knew Theo worked for some muggle company but she didn't know what he did.

Theo tipped his glass at her - some sort of scotch based on the color.

"Theo, Padma, it's so good to see you." Hermione smiled. "I'll come back in a moment, I just want to put my stuff down by Harry and Ron."

"Be sure to come back, I'll buy us a round. You can tell Ginny, Potter and Weasel—" Theo coughed in the crook of his sleeve, "—Weasley to come too." Padma glared at him.

"Of course." She said, smiling still. She and Theo both knew that Ron would never be willing to have Theo buy him a drink. Ron's hatred towards Slytherins had never wavered after the war. She couldn't think of a single Slytherin he regularly spoke to.

But that was the past now. They were all adults. They all had good jobs, and putting childish things behind was part of adulthood. Hermione walked over to the table with her friends, sitting down.

"Hermione! How are you?" Ginny said, smiling. Ron leaned over and kissed Hermione full on the mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Ronald!" She said, though smiling. Until she noticed that his eyes immediately drifted back towards where Theo and Padma sat. The taste of him on her lips spoiled.

"You jealous dolt." She hissed at him, before turning back to Ginny to answer her question. "Wonderful! My day at the Ministry was very productive. We've been trying to help trace some of the house elf lineages so elf families that were separated throughout centuries could find each other. House elves live a couple hundred years, so it's quite a task." She explained enthusiastically. She paused. "Would you like to come over to Theo and Padma? They would like to buy us a round."

Ron rolled his eyes. "We don't need drinks bought from his blood money."

"Ronald!" She snapped again.

"What, Hermione? The Notts dealt in ancient artifacts for centuries. That Manor didn't buy itself." Ron spat.

Ginny looked at Ron with a fire in her eyes as she stood, taking Harry's elbow to bring him with her. Harry smiled, albeit nervously - his work as an Auror meant that he knew all about the Nott's past, but he also knew about Theo's complete lack of culpability. The Ministry had given him truth serum after truth serum, trying to prove he'd been involved with the death eaters, to no avail. Theo had no dark mark and his wand was free from any illegal curses. He was innocent as far as the Ministry could prove.

Once Hermione, Ginny and Harry began to walk back towards Theo and Padma, Hermione stumbled a moment as she saw they'd been joined by another person - a person with the lightest of blonde hair.

Malfoy.

He wore dark dress robes, but they were open, showing that beneath he wore a similar button down to Theo's, only a dark blue. He had what was clearly a Firewhiskey in his hand; he set the glass down as he turned to face them.

"Nott, Malfoy, Padma." Harry greeted, nodding at them. Ginny smiled; Ron looked sullen.

"We came to take you up on that round. It's a bit crowded though, we can-" Before Hermione could finish Theo waved his hand, and the barmaid came with a tray of small glasses of golden liquid. Theo began to pass each glass, looking each person in the eyes. Malfoy kept his head down but accepted the drink.

"Cheers." Theo said, holding his glass up. Everyone participated except Ron, who didn't clink his glass to the others. They all drank. Hermione had never had that drink before, but it was delicious - it tasted like warm hot chocolate as it traveled down her throat.

"Thank you, Theo, that was wonderful." Hermione said. Everyone nodded their appreciation.

"Malfoy." Harry acknowledged as he set his glass back on the table. Everyone looked between them hesitantly.

"Potter." Malfoy said back, finally looking up at them. Draco looked much older than 19; his eyes had dark circles beneath them, his thin jaw covered in wisps of a beard. He did look considerably better than two years prior; he'd gained some weight, and looked almost at ease, despite being at a table with his former enemy. His eyes flitted to Hermione's. "Granger. Weasleys. Or are you Mrs. Potter yet?" He asked Ginny, his voice not unkind but not friendly.

"We're getting married in September." She answered, instinctively reaching to the engagement ring on her finger. "Before I leave for the Harpies."

"Of course. Congratulations."

"Are you marrying Astoria?" Ginny asked. Everyone looked at her. "I actually had friends outside of Gryffindor, Astoria is a sweet girl." She said defensively.

"We're not yet engaged, though it's expected of us to happen soon."

"Expected of you? Quite a romantic bloke you are, Ferret." Ron said, smirking. Hermione glared at him - this was almost a cordial conversation. Almost.

"Well, we better head back to our table." Hermione said quickly, looking around. "We're blocking the walkway. It was lovely to see you, Theo, Padma, M-Malfoy." She stammered over his name; it felt odd to use his surname when she didn't for Theo and Padma. But Theo and Padma were her friends. Draco wasn't, and probably never would be.

The rest of the evening went by as normal, Ron and Ginny arguing about Quidditch, Harry absentmindedly staring off into space, probably thinking about work. He had a lot of responsibility bringing the government back from the hands of fascism; he tried to not let it show, but he was much more distant than he'd ever been. Hermione tried to gently nudge him towards therapy, but was incredibly shocked to find an absolute lack of mental health services for wizards, particularly those with PTSD. The current strategies seem to either be let them suffer or modify their memories. She tried to talk to Padma about it, who'd seemed interested in exploring the idea within her career as a mediwitch - those who remained of their classmates after the war had similar problems to Harry, and all of them needed the help.

Hermione left by herself, the first of her group to go. Ron was already tipsy, and therefore planted a wet kiss upon her lips before she could sneak away. She never understood getting truly drunk – it seemed like a lack of control for no purpose.

It was unsurprising that she'd left early - she woke up the earliest too, and got to work before almost anyone else in the Ministry. And as much as she loved her friends, she wanted some down time to herself. She'd just picked up a new book, and she was very excited to -

She bumped into someone, stepping back and apologizing, before realizing she'd smacked right into Malfoy.

"Granger!" He said, though it was more out of surprise than anger.

"Malfoy!" She said back, almost biting back her earlier apology. A habit around him; show no weakness.

"I'm actually - I'm glad I bumped into you. I have a question." Draco said, clearing his throat and tugging on his already loosened tie.

"Of course?" Hermione said, her voice lilting the last syllable.

"I saw the work you, Padma and Theo did at Hogwarts. Theo and I - we're actually old friends. We grew up-"

"-I know," she interrupted. "He told us."

"Well, anyway, I want to restore the Manor. Restore isn't the right word. I want to completely change the Manor. Like Theo has done to his."

Hermione had not been to Theo's home, though Padma sent her pictures of the before and after - it'd turned from a medieval looking fortress to a modern, open design, full of windows and sunlight. The transformation was incredible.

"I plan to hire some of the best building restoration wizards in the business, of course." He said, his hand touching the back of his neck nervously. "But...well, some of the wards on the Malfoy Manor. I need someone with better expertise. And I think, as of right now, You, Theo and Padma are the most skilled in the world at this sort of task. I know you all say otherwise - you're all obnoxiously modest - but I don't think there's anyone else I'd rather have do it." He stood straighter, looking her in the eyes. "I can pay you of course, whatever price you demand. And I understand you still work at the ministry, I'm in no way trying to interfere with your work."

"You...want me to go back to the Manor." Her hand instinctively went towards her forearm. Draco reddened.

"I...I do. I want to grow up, Granger. If you want to blast the drawing room into a million pieces I'll let you. I want those memories gone." He looked determined. "I don't want to remember anymore than you do, and unfortunately, given the centuries old magic involved, I have to live there as a Malfoy heir. If I'm forced to stand on its soil I want that soil to be something I'm proud of."

Hermione searched his eyes for some sort of joke or cruelty, but there was none to be found. She bit her lip, thinking about his words.

"I'll consider it." She finally said slowly, adjusting the coat she wore over her robes. He watched her for a moment longer before nodding.

"Of course." He paused, before taking a breath. "Thank you." He said, the words sounding foreign on his lips.

"Of course." She echoed back, before turning to go back to her flat.


	2. Chapter 2

Dramione Chapter 2

Hermione awoke the next morning to Crookshanks purring on her chest. She pushed the beloved ball of fur to the side, where he curled back up on a pillow, unmoved.

Hermione stood, shrugging a bathrobe on over her pajamas before going out to make a cup of tea. It was Saturday; Ron would be busy at the joke shop, and Harry and Ginny had a picnic planned. She was excited to have the morning to herself to read and relax.

Armed with tea and a breakfast of porridge, she sat at her kitchen table, raising the tea to her lips before her fireplace lit up.

She jumped up, realizing she'd have no time to get dressed before whoever came through her floo-

Malfoy?

"What are you doing here? How did you get access to my fireplace?" She asked, wrapping the robe tighter around her. A moment later Theo and Padma popped out as well, though both looked sheepish, as though they were somewhat manipulated into being there.

"Connections are not something I lack, Grangers." Draco said, tilting his head at her in confusion. "What are those things on your feet?"

"...slippers. Surely wizards wear slippers."

"They have ears. Are they enchanted?"

"No! They're just...they're rabbit slippers. It's something muggles wear, though sometimes more as a joke. They...they were a gift."

"Are they made of rabbit?"

"Of course not! Rabbits have ears and so do the slippers - Malfoy why are you here?" She asked impatiently, ignoring a blushing Padma-who must have been having quite a laugh for her bronzed skin to visibly change- and an absent-minded Theo, who managed to find the bookcase she kept in her living room.

"The Notebook? Really Granger, Nicholas Sparks?" Theo said, taking a book out and flipping through it.

"How do you know about the Notebook?" She asked him, confused.

"Someone at work's wife read it. They're making a-what do you call it?" He looked up at the ceiling. "Movie? Those plays that move around on those screens." He pointed at her TV.

"Seriously Theo, your house is wired with electricity, you haven't watched any movies yet?" Hermione replied, rolling her eyes.

"I want one of those flat ones instead of this type but they're still so expensive in muggle money." He said, pointing at the TV she had.

"Well what does it do?" Malfoy looked at the box with curiosity. Hermione groaned in frustration.

"Can we /please/ talk about this later? Why are you in my house?"

"Eat your porridge before it gets cold. Theo show me what this box thing does." Malfoy sat down beside Theo on the couch as Theo reached for the remote on the coffee table, turning on the TV.

"Merlin, Granger, how old is your TV? You know they make much better pictures now, right? Malfoy this is not a great example of Muggle technology, Granger has the furnishings of an old lady." Theo said, before going into a description of how televisions worked in a way even Hermione couldn't articulate. She listened intently while eating her porridge.

"Theo how do you know all this?" Hermione asked, tilting her head as he finished his explanation and was flipping through channels. Theo shook his head.

"Hermione, you're a good friend but a terrible listener. Modifying muggle technology to suit wizard needs is my entire business model, I need to know how it works to do that." He pointed out. Her cheeks reddened - he had told her that before.

"I'm so sorry, Theo, in my defense I haven't had any coffee or tea yet before you came here unannounced." She mumbled, still grumpy with them for barging in to her relaxing morning.

"Always a ray of sunshine, Hermione." Theo replied, the corner of his mouth twisting into a familiar smirk. She rolled her eyes. "You of all people should be interested in my research as a muggleborn, don't you get bored watching Weasel and Potter play wizard's chest and rattle on about Quidditch? I'll make a fortune once I can bring football to the wizarding world."

"You really think it'll be that beneficial?" Hermione asked, looking at Padma and Draco, whose eyes were glued to the TV. Theo had found an action movie, and the screen was full of CGI monsters.

"I mean, don't take this the wrong way, Granger, but the ratio of pureblood to Muggle is going to change drastically with old Wizard families dying out after the war. I really think the cultural bleed will be like nothing Britain has seen before." He explained.

"Because you need the fortune, mate." Draco said sarcastically, though the snark in his voice weakened as his eyes widened, suddenly glued to the screen. "How did they do that with those bugs?"

"The goal is to replace my current fortune, then donate the blood money to get it out of my hands." Theo explained, rolling his eyes at Draco. Unlike Draco, who seemed to accept his aristocratic position despite his father's deeds, Theo had done no such thing. He avoided spending money he hadn't earned. Hermione noticed it throughout the previous school year - Theo's robes weren't as fine as Draco's, and he didn't wear a family crest ring like most of the purebloods.

Ron didn't understand her friendship with Theo and how it'd blossomed over the school year, but it was hard to avoid getting close to him given the amount of time they spent together and her almost sick curiosity of knowing someone whose father was a death eater.

The thought of Theo's father distracted her, and her eyes drifted back to Malfoy. Sitting on her couch, watching _The Mummy_ on a Saturday morning. Oh, Merlin.

She resigned herself to eating. If they didn't plan on leaving, she'd at least need strength to get them out of her house.

"Okay, now that there's a moment," Theo said once an advertisement came on the television, turning back to Hermione. "We came to show you the known curses and wards on Malfoy Manor, and a map of where we think the source of the magic is. It's absolutely fascinating how they overlay without constantly setting each other off."

"And that required all three of you to come to my house first thing in the morning?"

"Well, no, but I'm pretty sure me coming alone might have been frowned upon, and Theo and Padma were already together so it worked out for the best." Malfoy said. The smile on his face waivered slightly – as though he realized he said something he shouldn't. Both Theo and Padma's eyes were downcast.

_How curious… _Hermione thought, taking a sip of coffee as Malfoy pulled out a scroll from a small wallet. He must have an expanding charm on it. She didn't know expanding charms could be done on objects so small. She'd have to refresh her research on the topic.

Despite herself, she glanced down at the documents Malfoy laid on her table before her, eyebrows raising in surprise.

"Did Merlin himself put these wards on the Manor?" She asked in astonishment, noting each complex charm. The way they were set, she could find no weakness or blind spot.

"Allegedly, though I doubt there's any authenticated record of it." Malfoy said without a hint of irony, sitting at her table with her. "This is part of the problem – if we disable one of them, all the others should go off and potentially blow us all out of the water, figuratively speaking. We have to determine if there's a chink in the armor."

Hermione frowned, needing something to write with. She'd have to use trigonometry to determine the range, angles, and potential overlaps of each of the wards. It was, indeed, a puzzle. And she did enjoy puzzles.

"Besides, Hermione, I wanted to add to my boy's attempts to sway you to work with us on this." Theo said, also coming over to the table, though not before pouring himself a cup of coffee from the pot she'd prepared. He seemed to know where the mugs were by pure instinct.

"And what do you think would convince me?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Padma paid them no mind, having picked up _The Notebook _from the bookshelf and in the middle of the first chapter.

"Well, Hermione," Theo cleared his throat, "first off, I think the money would be beneficial for you. While you could accomplish anything in the world, you want to work at the ministry making peanuts for wages, and I respect that. But the funds would give you options. You could start a foundation. You could prepare a grand wedding with that Weasel – erm, Weasley of yours. You could buy Crooks here the world's tallest cat tower." He gestured towards Crookshanks, who was viewing Draco with suspicion as his feet tapped the floor.

"Financial security is always a positive factor." Hermione said neutrally, trying to determine where Theo was taking this conversation. While she knew Theo and Malfoy were friends, it interested her that he also seemed so invested in this task.

"Secondly, dealing with these wards are a skill that the three of us uniquely have, and frankly, I think that honing these skills will give you more flexibility when it comes to future endeavors. Again, if you decide to start popping out red-headed offspring, this sort of contract work would fit the lifestyle of someone with a family more than a standard 8-5 Ministry job." Theo took another sip of his cup. Hermione rolled her lips between her teeth in thought.

"And finally," Padma came over, sitting at the fourth and final seat around Hermione's square kitchen table. "We miss you. And this is a fun project we could work on together again, before things…change." She said, a pregnant pause hanging in the air before the word "change."

"What would change?" Hermione asked, looking at the fidgety Padma.

"I'm engaged." She said, finally meeting Hermione's eyes. "He didn't go to Hogwarts, he's a family friend. I'm moving to South Africa after we get married, probably in a year or so."

Hermione tried to hide her surprise. She didn't remember Padma ever mentioning having a boyfriend, let alone a fiancée. Besides, what about that awkward moment earlier? Had Padma and Theo not been together this morning and last night?

Draco had said nothing throughout all of this, his eyes still fixated on the drawings. Theo looked at Hermione, but his expression was unreadable – if he felt anything about Padma's engagement, Hermione couldn't tell by his expression.

"Okay." Hermione said finally, taking another sip of her coffee, trying to keep all memories associated with Malfoy Manor at bay. "I'll do it."

"Wonderful!" Draco said, pulling out the magical wallet again and writing a note. "I'll send an owl to Gringotts to begin the first transfer to your bank account."

"We haven't decided on a fee. And I haven't done anything yet."

"Semantics. We'll worry about that later." Draco said with a waive of his hand. "Besides, I now owe Theo a skinny box." He gestured towards the TV as Theo smirked. Bloody Slytherins.

"Theo you could have just told me you made a bet and saved yourself the big speech." Hermione huffed as he stood up to make more coffee, having finished off the pot.

"And take all the fun out of the game?" He teased, grinning at her. She couldn't help but smile back – Theo so rarely gave genuine smiles. Bloody bastard.

She expected them to leave, but god forbid they avoid overstaying their welcome. They left the kitchen and went back to the couch, continuing to watch the movie to the end despite having missed most of it. Draco commented on the film the most – Theo and Padma now both back to their more typical, stoic nature. Once the movie ended, the three stood up to go back to the fireplace.

"Well, Granger, we don't mean to intrude on your Saturday." Draco said, his voice void of irony. She rolled her eyes. "I thought perhaps we could meet at the Manor next weekend, perhaps Saturday or Sunday morning to your preference. I'll send an owl midweek to iron out a day and time."

Padma disappeared through her floo first, followed closely by Theo. Malfoy lingered a moment, locking eyes with Hermione. It was odd, looking him in the eye. It felt personal in a way she didn't expect.

"Good day, Granger." He said, tipping his head before disappearing into the fire.


	3. Chapter 3

The next week went on uneventfully, though Hermione said nothing to Ron, Harry or Ginny about her plans to help Malfoy. It wasn't so much that she was keeping it from them, it just hadn't come up in conversation. At least, that's what she told herself as the nagging guilt grew in her gut at keeping something from her best friends.

Malfoy, true to his word, send her an owl on Wednesday listing a grid of times on Saturday and Sunday for her to check off as she was available. Once she received the owl, it already included the times that Padma and Theo had agreed upon being free.

She decided the best time would be early Saturday morning. Ron always helped at the joke shop, and even if he did not it was unlikely that he be awake early enough to notice her absence. Besides, the sooner she could figure out the puzzle of Malfoy's wards, the sooner her mind could be at ease.

Well she loved her job and found value in her work, she did truly enjoy solving puzzles, and this puzzle was a caliber above anything she'd ever done. It reminded her of first-year, on their search for the philosopher's Stone, when she solved Snape's riddle with the potions. The swell of pride she felt upon solving the riddle was intoxicating. Hell, maybe a nonzero part of her friendship was Harry was her joy in figuring out how to get them out of trouble. They had frequently managed to find it.

A second owl appeared Wednesday after Draco's, with a sealed letter from Gringott's, pointing out an unreasonably large amount of gold had been transferred to her bank account. She could quit the Ministry for a year before making a substantial dent in it. While she didn't like the idea of accepting Malfoy's money, Theo had a point when they spoke on the weekend. Money was a tool – a tool that could be used to build a house, or travel the world, or pay for a wedding and sending her future children to the best muggle primary schools in Britain.

Thursday night she went on a date with Ron, which they try to do every other Thursday. Ron didn't seem to see the value in consistent date nights the way that she did, but she wanted to make sure to spend as much time with her loved ones as possible now that the war was over. Her parents had not recovered their memories from her memory charm, and therefore Ron, Harry and the rest of the Weasleys were Hermione's only remaining family.

Friday night she again went out with Harry, Ginny and Ron. Unlike the previous week, the evening pass without event. Ginny was training with the Harpies, Harry continued to track down missing Death Eaters and Ron…well, Ron attempted to track down Death Eaters. Hermione couldn't help but notice that Ron's stories never seems like the work he did filled the time he spent at work. What did he do all day? Then again, maybe she was being overly judgmental.

Seeing Malfoy and now being involved in the Manor's restoration meant she was now on high alert when his name came across her desk. He was frequently featured in The Daily Prophet, whether simply attending some sort of fundraiser with Astoria and his Mother or being interviewed for something related to his business endeavors. He seemed to be diversifying his sources of income - he owned an orchard in Poland, a coffee plantation in the Caribbean, a potions research facility in Scotland, as well as several properties across greater Europe.

Hermione also took an interest in Astoria, who seemed to be a constant at Draco's side. Her hair was a darker blonde than Draco's, always styled in gentle waves that framed a heart shaped face with full lips and almond-shaped eyes. She was beautiful but also looked oddly frail – a touch thin in a way that wasn't fashionable, a sallow to her skin that, while normally carefully hidden with makeup, would show in photos from late in their evenings out.

Hermione hated herself for being judgmental. She'd look like a dumpster fire after so many nights out, doing whatever it was Draco and Astoria had to do at such parties. She'd been invited to those types of events, but actively avoided them. Given her, Harry, and Ron's backgrounds, they always felt out of place at high-brow wizard events. Being "the Golden Trio" didn't help figure out which stupid fork went with which course.

Now that it was Saturday morning, she anxiously paced around her flat, trying to collect herself. She didn't want to go back to the Manor. She didn't want to think about the drawing room, or Bellatrix, or the torture that happened there. But she'd made a promise, and she wanted to see her friends, and she wanted to help.

before she could lose her nerve, she threw the powder into her fireplace and called out into the void: Malfoy Manor.

She entered an unfamiliar foyer, filled with light streaming in from a nearby skylight. Much to her surprise, the room was full of plants - spider plants hanging their leaves from planters coming from the walls, a trio of succulents on a shelf, and a money tree sitting on the ground with its leaves reaching up towards the light. she never pictured Malfoy as the kind of person to have plants, but she couldn't place why her brain would make that assumption. Was having plants a personality trait?

Before she could think about it further, she heard the footsteps coming from a nearby hallway, rushing towards her at a hurried pace. A hand appeared in a nearby threshold, and suddenly Draco swung into the room, as though trying to stop his momentum from propelling him forward. It was the most casual she'd ever seen him – darting across the room instead of moving with his amount of aristocratic control.

"Granger! Lovely to see you." he said, gesturing towards the door where he came from. "Theo, Padma, and I just in the library, looking over where we should start with the wards."

She nodded, following him as he let her through the manor. It wasn't like she recognized oh, but then again it had been under very different circumstances. She tried to focus on Draco, studying him in the new light of what she'd learned through the daily prophet. To her surprise, he still wore robes even on the weekend. She had come wearing blue jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt. Constantly wearing robes over trousers and shirts always seemed ridiculous to her - wizard fashion seemed intent on preventing comfortable movement.

When they reach the library, she tried not to show her delight. It was everything she could expect from a Malfoy library – the books went from floor to ceiling, with large ladders for easy access to those near the top. The room was a perfect circle, with the glass ceiling showing the mid-morning sky, an unremarkable gray of clouds hiding any source of atmospheric blue.

Padma sat in a chair in the center of the room, a table in front of her covered with the same map that Hermione had looked at the last weekend. Theo sat on the floor, his back against the arm of Padma's chair oh, his face turned toward a hearth along one wall. She wondered why the fireplace was lit in the middle of the summer and as she stepped towards it, she realized the flames were cool instead of hot.

"What is this?" she wondered out loud holding her fingers towards the flame. Instead of fire it felt like mist - like one of those fountains the children were playing in the park.

"Magic, obviously" Draco said as he sat down besides Padma. "Now come look at this map and find a chink in the armor."

"Would it kill you to say please for once?" Hermione chided as she sat down and another chair, pulling a pencil out of her bag and using a charm to replicate the map onto another sheet of paper. She took out a protractor and begin calculating the angles she thought each Ward would have. She used her wand as a magic eraser when she made mistakes oh, doing the mathematical calculations on the corner of the map.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked, leaning over the table so he could more closely see her work.

"well all the spells would have to have radius is based around where they were cast, and the wand movements used for the wards. If we can figure out based off the spells used how far they are, we can determine the angles and therefore determine the exact area which each Ward covers." she explained as she continued to take her notes. "really you think Hogwarts would teach more practical subjects like advanced maths as opposed to divination." she said, thinking about how much more useful these calculations were as opposed to Trelawny's ramblings during third year.

Padma quickly picked up on what Hermione was doing and began working on the opposite side of the map creating the same patterns she did to figure out what area was covered by each Ward.

"No interest in Maths, Theo?" Hermione asked, looking down at Thea who still sat on the ground quietly. A smirk crossed his features.

"I'm here for the wand waving and potential explosions, thank you very much." He responded, aiming his wand at the flames and watching them move in response to his motion. Hermione hid how impressed she was at his use of nonverbal magic. Despite what felt like years of practice, she struggled with casting spells non-verbally. it was as though her magic stopped at her brain and was unable to appear simply from her wish. After the war, she and Harry had worked very hard to learn nonverbal spells. Of course, it has come naturally to Harry, as many defensive spells did. it was frustrating how effort did not necessarily correlate with results, but that was life.

Once they determined a potential weakness in the wards, they went outside to the alleged "chink," located along the south wall of the Manor. She wondered how long the ancient stones stood on these grounds.

She watched Theo place a hand on the stone, wand in hand, his fingertips glowing.

"You might be right with this Maths nonsense, Granger." He said, stepping back. "Now the question is what's the best spell to blow this wall to pieces?"

"Do we get to blow something up?" a voice called from the distance. Draco, Padma, Hermione and Theo turned to see a tall, dark-skinned boy in impeccable and flashy dress robes stroll towards them.

"Zabini we're working, now's not the time." Malfoy called, though Blaise Zabini did not slow, approaching them with a metered swagger. Blaise had never said a word to Hermione in school – a combination of blood prejudice and just being a bully. She'd never known anyone so vain.

"Working on a Saturday? What are you, a house elf?" Blaise said, clearly winking at Hermione as he approached. Her cheeks reddened in annoyance – Blaise didn't work for the ministry, per se, but he had spies everywhere. She wasn't surprised he knew about her house elf project.

Hermione ignored him and without thinking blasted a spell at the wall.

"_Discute Magicae_," she said, moving her wand and aiming at the spot they'd hoped. The wall reverberated with magic, a sound coming from the stone as though she'd hit it with a tuning fork. No one spoke for a moment, and she reached forward, placing a hand on the cool stone. The protective magic that had been there a moment before, that had left a warm tingling against her fingers, was gone. She smiled.

"_Inspiratione_!" Theo almost shouted with a wave of his wand. He blew a hole into the wall, causing an avalanche of stone to crumble to the ground. He looked at his four compatriots, with the smile of a third-year leaving Honeydukes for the first time.

"WICKED, MATE!" Zabini said, jogging to close the distance and throwing his arms around Theo. "What a fucking rush. Good job, Granger. Now, to celebrate."

"Celebrate? We just got started and blew a hole into my fucking wall, we can't just leave it like this."

"Of course we can, Malfoy. You don't use this room anyway for good reason." Blaise said. Only at that point did Hermione realize what stood on the other side of the wall. The drawing room. She swallowed hard.

Before she could react, Theo hooked his arm around her waist and Padma's, and they blinked away.

"OW!" She said, rolling her shoulders where they'd apparitioned to. "You can't side-along me without telling me! What if I'd been splinched, you arse!" She said, hitting his arm.

A moment later a delighted Blaise and disgruntled Draco joined them.

"What the fuck, Nott, we were working." Draco said to a Theo who ignored him, reaching into a glass hutch full of alcohol and glasses.

"We solved the first part of the puzzle! Padma and Hermione had been doing calculations for hours. We need food. And drink. Besides, Blaise reminded me – the ministry hasn't talked to my elf recently. Minny!"

*pop*

"Yes, Master Theo?" asked a small house elf who, to Hermione's great surprise, wore a bright blue dress that matched her large, rounded eyes.

"Bring us some lunch we'll take in the sun room, and do whatever Ms. Granger here asks of you."

Hermione opened her mouth in protest. She didn't want the elf being _required _to speak to her. However, it was a part of her job, and she did have her work notes in her bag…

Theo took them from where they'd apparated into another room with floor-to ceiling windows on three sides. In the center was a group of comfy-looking chairs surrounding a table. She looked around, feeling suddenly out of place. Where was she? She'd assumed Theo's, but she'd never been here. Cursed Slytherins.

She sat down next to Padma, who also seemed annoyed at their sudden change of location, though to a much lesser extent than Hermione. Padma started asking Hermione about her house elf project. Hermione took out a leather-bound notebook, showing the current charts and family trees she'd made for the elves in Great Britain. The boys ignored them as they spoke, talking about other nonsense, who knows.

A few moments later, Minny returned with a plate of sandwiches she carefully levitated onto the table, before going over to Hermione.

"What would you like to know, Mistress Granger?"

"You don't' need to call me Mistress, I have no power over you."

"I understand, Mistress Granger."

Hermione sighed. "I'm trying to help house elves find their family members. Do you remember your parents, Minny?"

"No, Mistress. I've been with the Notts for as long as I've been alive. There used to be other elves, but I don't believe we were kin. Master Theo freed them all once Master Silas passed away." _Silas Nott._ Hermione never heard Theo's father's name aloud. She filed that away in her brain. She was surprised at how human-like the elf's speech patterns were. She wondered if Theo had something to do with that and the dress she wore.

"But Theo didn't free you?" She asked. Theo heard his name, turning his head.

"He did, Mistress Granger. But I didn't want to go. I've been with Master Theo since he was a baby, and before that with Mistress Clara. So now…" She hesitated.

"I pay her." Theo said, his mouth full of sandwich. "She earns a galleon a week, plus she has access to my account at Madam Malkin's to have outfits commissioned. I tried to pay her more – Malfoy pays his elves tenfold that, but she didn't want to take it, so the dresses were a compromise."

"You have house elves? And you all pay them?" Hermione said, confused. The way everyone she knew acted about house elves; she was surprised the group of Slytherins would pay for them.

"Theo and Malfoy do because they have estates. Their elves came with their family name. I, fortunately, am blessed with dirty, "new money," and therefore all my servants are human." Blaise clarified. Malfoy's ears were red as Hermione stared at him. He knew she knew about Dobby. She looked down, feeling a little sick to her stomach. What an awkward moment.

"Yes. I gave them all the option of freedom or money. About half of them took each option. I have about ten on staff now." Malfoy said, grey eyes still downcast. It was odd, seeing him uncomfortable. His emotions felt palpable, filling the room, dampening the entire group.

"I don't have any elves either." Padma said, shrugging. "Also, no old money here. No offense of course, Theo." Hermione watched as their eyes met. She _swore _she could see a spark between them, like static in the air.

"None taken." He said, standing up. "If we're done for the day, Malfoy, perhaps you'd want to take Hermione back to Malfoy Manor so she can floo home?" He looked at Hermione apologetically. "I have anti-apparition wards, it's why I needed you to side-along. I also have no floo network, so the easiest thing would be Draco taking you back to the Manor and you flooing from there."

"Why aren't you connected to the Floo Network?" She asked, tilting her head. He shrugged.

"Why make it easier for people to get here? Now that's you've been here the house can reset and add your magical signature. You'll be able to get here in the future, if you so choose, of course. I did sort of kidnap you before." Theo said, trying to hide a telltale smirk. She rolled her eyes. At first, she wondered why he was kicking her out so suddenly when she looked at the time. It was mid-afternoon, and she needed to get to supper at the Weasleys. It had completely slipped her mind.

Malfoy stood. "We have to head back to the study, it's the only apparition point." He said, opening the door to head back into Theo's house. They walked the short distance; this time Hermione paid more attention to the walls. They were all shades of grey, with paintings evenly spaced. They looked mostly impressionist to her – blurry images of water lilies, of trees with changing leaves of fall. The water in the images ripped, with the leaves of the trees gently falling down every now and again. It was beautiful – a piece of art she'd never even thought to imagine. Nothing like the classically done portraits at Hogwarts.

When they reached the study, Malfoy held out a hand.

"Thank you, Granger. You figured out how to fix the manor and for that I'm grateful." He said, looking her in the eyes. There was something about his gaze that made her uncomfortable – it was too fierce, too cold. Not cruel – that wasn't the right word. But his eyes lacked a warmth she was used to. It was unnerving.

"You're welcome, Malfoy. It was…fun. This was fun." She said, only half lying. Seeing the drawing room had made her heart want to stop, but she didn't want to appear weak. She took his hand – his skin was smooth and cool to the touch. In a moment they blinked out of the room and landed back in the foyer of Malfoy Manor.

She looked towards the fireplace, a bag of floo powder besides it. She turned to say goodbye to Malfoy, whose mouth was open as though about to speak. She raised her eyebrows, waiting. His lips closed.

"Have a good week, Hermione. I'll send you an owl with a schedule for our next round of work."

"Of course. Goodbye, Malfoy." She said, turning and flooing back home.

It was only when she stepped into her living room did she realize he'd called her Hermione.


End file.
